Análise das teias tróficas bentónicas para avaliação das interações funcionais para a gestão dos ecossistemas marinhos e costeiros de acordo com a Diretiva Estratégia Marinha Europeia

Cofinanciado por:
Acrónimo | D4Ss
Designação do projeto | Análise das teias tróficas bentónicas para avaliação das interações funcionais para a gestão dos ecossistemas marinhos e costeiros de acordo com a Diretiva Estratégia Marinha Europeia
Código do projecto | ALT20-03-0145-FEDER-029400
Objetivo principal | Reforçar a Investigação, o desenvolvimento tecnológico e a inovação

Região de intervenção | Alentejo, Lisboa

Entidade beneficiária |
  • Universidade de Évora(líder)
  • NOVA.ID.FCT - Associação para a Inovação e Desenvolvimento da FCT(parceiro)

Data de aprovação | 20-06-2018
Data de inicio | 18-10-2018
Data de conclusão | 18-10-2021
Data de prorrogação | 17-10-2022

Custo total elegível | 239735 €
Apoio financeiro da União Europeia | FEDER - 157938 €
Apoio financeiro público nacional/regional | República Portuguesa - 81796 €
Apoio financeiro atribuído à Universidade de Évora | 185810 €

Resumo

A finalidade deste estudo é investigar os efeitos dos diferentes estados tróficos do sedimento nas interaçoes “bottom-up” nas cadeias tróficas estuarinas e marinhas, tais como as diferenças da biogeoquímica e do microbioma associado ao sedimento. A hipótese de trabalho que será testada irá avaliar como as diferentes condições sedimentares relacionadas com a quantidade e qualidade de matéria orgânica e as diferentes comunidades microbianas irão moldar a estrutura da cadeia trófica produzindo diferentes efeitos “bottom-up”  nas  comunidades bentónicas.

As áreas de estudo são na costa sudoeste portuguesa, no Alentejo (Estuário do Sado e Plataforma Continental) para articular DQEM e DQA, de acordo as recomendações da UE. Será também realizado o “mapeamento de habitat” das comunidades de nematodes nas duas áreas de estudo devido à lacuna de dados de referência, que são necessárias a este estudo. A alteração da posição trófica (efeitos bottom-up) das espécies da macrofauna e dos nematodes serão determinados com base nas razões de isotópos naturais e enriquecidos (δ13C e δ15N), permitindo identificar as fontes de alimento e a estrutura trófica das comunidades bentónicas. Será aplicada uma ferramenta adicional a partir dos dados da análise isotópica que permitirá estudar a estrutura da cadeia trófica relativamente ao seu nicho trófico das espécies. As condições tróficas dos sedimentos serão avaliadas com base em parâmetros biogeoquímicos, concentração de contaminantes orgânicos, quantidade e qualidade de MO e Chl-a e seus produtos de degradação e ainda através do microbioma dos sedimentos recorrendo a metodologias de sequenciação metagenómica.

O trabalho apresenta inovação relativamente às suas questões científicas, mas também na metodologia selecionada para as resolver, estruturada no conhecimento das comunidades bentónicas estuarinas e marinhas e nas infraestruturas de análise químicas avançadas disponíveis, assim com nos métodos avançados de análise molecular. A equipa do projeto é complementar nas suas capacidades científicas, sendo especialistas em cada uma das áreas exigidas o que assegura a realização do projeto.

O desenvolvimento de rotinas laboratoriais de elevada capacidade científica serão transformadas em serviços, criando emprego especializado e condições de criação de uma startup para monitorizar o Descritor 4 mas também os Descritores de Biodiversidade no âmbito da DQEM.


Objetivos, atividades e resultados esperados/atingidos

Objetivos

Food web structure, energy and nutrient budgets are difficult to measure, in particular the trophic pathways via which primary production reaches higher trophic levels, which explain the D4- trophic webs is considered the most difficult descriptor to monitoring and assess. Novel techniques have been developed and are being used increasingly to trace carbon and nitrogen sources for benthos from different marine and estuarine habitats and energy flow through benthic food webs. Measurements of natural and enriched isotopic quotients (δ13C and δ15N), allow to pathways of trophic energy to be traced and quantified. The Laboratory Hercules (University of Évora) have analytical Infrastructure to establish the robust valuation methodological based on isotope ecology to analyse the energy flow through the benthic food webs (Saragoça et al., 2016). Benthic-mediated effects and the trophic position variation of the dominant nematodes of the assemblages on the transfer of the sediments trophic status to the higher trophic levels will be there analysed based on isotope ecology as driver to be turned into services that create quality jobs to monitoring and help address global societal challenges.

 

In summary the purpose of this project will be achieved by the following specific objectives:

·       To analyse the estuarine sediment biochemistry, namely granulometry, total sedimentary organic carbon (TOC), nitrogen (TN), heavy metals and metalloids and organochlorine pesticides.

To analyse the sediment microbiome through sequencing technologies and applicability of the metagenomic profiling to assessing microbial biodiversity.

To investigate food resources use and trophic position of macrobenthos and benthic nematodes in an estuarine and Continental Shelf food web under different sediment trophic status, using the natural abundance of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope.

To assess the benthic-mediated effects and the trophic position variation of the dominant macrobenthic and benthic nematodes of the assemblages under different sediments biogeochemical conditions status to the higher trophic levels.

To apply a analytical approach to  calculate “community-wide” measures of trophic structure using stable isotope representations of species niches.

To compare the functional interactions of the most abundant species of the benthic nematodes assemblages of the continental shelf and Sado estuary  (Southwest cost of Portugal)

To investigate the spatial diversity based on morphological taxonomic identification of the benthic nematode assemblages in continental shelf of the SW cost of Portugal.

To analyse and to integrate the data obtained to provide robust methodologies to assess GES for the specific descriptors D4- Food webs and associated descriptors of the “biodiversity theme” (D1, D6) of MSFD.

To develop actions that will assure the spread of the scientific outputs and knowledge transfer to society.

Atividades

The following methodology will be achieved the goal major activities: . 

ACTIVITY 1.  Sampling collection for diversity analysis of marine and estuarine nematode assemblages (all objectives).

ACTIVITY 2. Sampling and sample treatment for benthic food web analysis (dual stable isotope analysis) (Objective 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8).

ACTIVITY 3. Habitat mapping of the continental shelf and analysis of the estuarine benthic nematode assemblages (Objective 7).

ACTIVITY 4 –Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis: Food sources revelead by dual stable isotope signatures..

ACTIVITY 5 – Biogeochemistry of the sediment (Objective 1)

ACTIVITY 6 – Culture-independent characterization of the estuarine and marine environments: a metagenomic approach (Objective 2).

ACTIVITY 7: The integration and upscaling of results (Objective 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8).

ACTIVITY 8:  Scientific activity spreading actions and knowledge transfer (Objective 9).

These activities will be developed in the infrastructures from MARE-Universidade de Évora (UÉ), MARE- Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL), Nemalab (UÉ) and Hercules Laboratory (UÉ). The research infrastructure Hercules have all the instrumentation to perform the isotope ecology analysis, the NemaLab is the only  lab in Portugal focus in soil and aquatic nematodes research, it has all the molecular equipment and expertise for the analysis of the microbiome. The partner from MARE-UNL have analytical instrumentation for sediment analysis and long experience to develop studies in Sado estuary. The PI of the Minplat (Geoscience Department, UÉ) has a long experience in deep sea and continental shelf sampling cruises. These project will be advised by Tom Moens from University of Gent, Belgium, he is expertise on benthic food web based on isotope ecology. In last years the PI and the advisor have being develop joint research with 5 scientific papers published in international Journals (Q1) and 6 oral presentations in international meetings.   

Resultados

This project has important societal challenges by providing high specialized laboratory routines (Hercules) and capacity to analyze and interpret coastal and marine ecosystem interactions focusing in D4. It can thus create jobs according the strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, facilitating a “start-up” project. To this end the scientific team will develop actions to assure the spread of the scientific outputs and knowledge transfer to society with the main aims: i) to provide relevant scientific knowledge to achieve GES in the Portuguese marine and coastal waters; ii) increasing the Portuguese capacity for marine environmental monitoring; iii) to manage the marine environment in an integrated manner; iv) to provide tools for monitor and ensure the sustainable use of marine resources, and v) to develop high training specialists services in routine analyze.

The scientific outputs will be published in international per reviewed journals, scientific communications will present by the team in specialized international meetings and it will be created a web page of the project. It will be proposed Ph.D and Master thesis within a Doctoral and Master Program courses. A thematic workshop related with D4Ss will be integrated in the “International Conference of Meiofauna, University of Évora, 2019”. This conference will be organized by the PI and CoPI and scientists worldwide will the trophic processes and methodologies to assess D4. The final workshop of the Project to integrate and upscale data where all scientific team will participate, and the coordinators of the Public Administration officers involved in the implementation of monitoring programs of the WDF and MSFD of the Southwest Coast of Portugal: APA- Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente and DGRM- Direção Geral de Recursos Maritimos will be also invited to integrate the work plan.  Additionally base on this report it will  organized workshop sessions in the “Reserva Natural do Estuário do Sado (RNES)” and Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (PNSACV).

The PI is member of “Conselho da Região Hidrográfica do Alentejo”, invited as “Individualidades de reconhecido mérito, prestígio académico ou profissional e trabalho de relevo desenvolvido na área dos recursos hídricos”. Taking in account this function, the PI and CoPI will work directly with the “Administração da Região Hidrográfica do Alentejo” in the implementation of the monitoring programme to assess GES to ensure the knowledge transfer acquired and provide services.

Since 2010 the PI has been collaborating with “Centro Ciência Viva de Estremoz” in the organization of field events in SW coast habitats involving high schools and society in science, e.g “Biology activities in Summer” focusing in the literacy about the Portuguese sea and its protection.